Wednesday Apple Rumors: iPhone Forecast to Gain Market Share

by Christopher Freeburn | March 20, 2013 12:49 pm

Wednesday Apple Rumors: iPhone Forecast to Gain Market Share

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Outlook: Industry research firm Yankee Group predicts that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[3]) will see its share of the U.S. smartphone market rise this year[4], AppleInsider notes. The prediction comes despite increased pressure from smartphone rival Samsung, which recently debuted its new flagship smartphone the Galaxy S4. A Yankee Group analyst noted that the Galaxy S4 represented an incremental upgrade over its predecessor and did not constitute a significant threat to the iPhone’s dominance of the U.S. smartphone market. Based on a consumer survey conducted this month, Yankee estimates that 40% of consumers planned to purchase an iPhone in the next six months, compared to just 15% who wanted to buy a Samsung phone. Samsung owners were also less attached to their devices, with 61% planning to purchase another Samsung phone, compared to 85% of iPhone owners who said they would stick with Apple.

Poached: Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE[5]) has confirmed that its chief technology officer has defected to Apple[6], AllThingsD notes. The software maker announced that Kevin Lynch will step down on March 22. Adobe will not seek a CTO successor, but will combine the CTO’s responsibilities under other executives. An Apple spokesman said that Lynch will join the iPad maker as vice president of technology. At Adobe, Lynch was a vocal defender of the company’s multimedia app, Flash, widely used on websites. Apple has been a relentless critic of Flash, refusing to support the app on iOS devices. Lynch reportedly had his eye on Adobe’s CEO job, but the company’s current CEO is not expected to step down in the foreseeable future.

Possible Penalties: A U.S. Magistrate Judge has upbraided Apple for laziness in turning over critical documents[7] and suggested that other litigants in the suit could press for sanctions against the iPhone maker, ZDNet noted. Judge Paul S. Grewal is presiding over a lawsuit against Apple by plaintiffs who allege that the company illicitly recorded location data from iPhones, even if users had disabled GPS functions. The judge noted that Apple didn’t produce a number of documents until the court demanded a review of its discovery process. Apple’s lawyers conceded that the company had failed to produce relevant documents and promised that it wouldn’t happen again. The company had resisted providing the documents, arguing that they could have compromised trade screts.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[8] stories.